Explain Why So Many Colonists Died In Early Jamestown

The colonists in Jamestown had to resort to cannibalism to survive during the awful winter known as “Starving Time”. They dug up graves of dead Indians and Englishmen to feed themselves. Jamestown was a colony that was established in early 1607 by English settlers. It was named after King James I and it’s located in present day Virginia. So why did so many colonists die? Colonists died in early Jamestown because of several problems, a few of which were diseases, lack of proper nutrition and the relationship with the Native Indians.

The first reason Jamestown colonists died was because of diseases. In Document A, we can see that the river and creeks started getting brackish and the levels of fresh water would be scarce. When the water started …show more content…
The people in Jamestown were not men who were willing to work. They were harsh men who wouldn’t work or try for a better relationship with the Indians. For a relationship to work, there needs to be trust on both sides. That was something we did not see in the colony-Indians relationship. In Document D, we see how harshly the men, especially the leaders, treated the Native Americans. This evidence helps explain why so many colonists died because it proves the character of the “men” who were representing the England and their king.

The third reason Jamestown colonists died was because of lack of nutrition. In some of the documents we can see that the supplies would come but it wouldn’t last very long. The next resupply ship would take a while in coming and during that time, the colonists suffered from lack of food. During the winter months,especially, was when the colonists suffered the most.The evidence from the documents helps explain why so many colonists died because it proves that food was scarce. Resources were available but because of the arrogance of the “men”, the resources weren’t used properly and to their full